1. Field
The present invention generally relates to transmission of data over telecommunication networks, and to telecommunication devices that enable such transmission. More particularly, the invention concerns a new technique for using the telecommunication device in a half-duplex mode for a low duty cycle data transmission operation.
2. Background
Remote monitoring of operations may involve battery-operated, wireless telecommunication devices that monitor operational status information and transmit via radio frequency signals the operational status information to a remotely situated information-processing device. Oftentimes, the operational status information can be transmitted via radio frequency signals as short messages. In such monitoring and transmission configurations, issues associated with power consumption management are an important concern.
In a typical operational environment, low maintenance battery-operated monitoring/telecommunication devices are desirable to facilitate operating efficiency and to reduce maintenance costs. Therefore, it is desirable to have a monitoring/telecommunication device that can operate for an extended period of time without requiring frequent maintenance for battery replacement and the like. For example, the telecommunication device may be placed in a sleep or low-power operating mode when there is no ongoing communication with the information-processing device. A trade off is usually made between the availability of the telecommunication device for communications with the information processing device and the amount of power consumption savings that can be achieved. A telecommunication device employing a power consumption saving technique may not be able to communicate with the remotely situated information-processing device as its communication circuitry or sections thereof may be shut-off when the device is in the sleep mode in order to conserve battery power.
There is therefore a need in the art for low power means of transmitting operational status information via radio frequency signals.